Ventana Sur unveils Latam series market titles

The hybrid documentary series “The Letelier File,” about what is believed to be the first act of international terrorism committed on U.S. soil, appears to be a potential highlight among the 11 projects selected for one-on-one interviews as part of Ventana Sur’s Latam Series Market.

“The Letelier File” brings together major creative forces in Chilean film television – “Prison in the Andes” creator Felipe Carmona and collaborators Rafael Valdeavellano (“Chicago Boys,” “Breaking the Brick”) and Nicolás Acuña, director of Fox’s “Besieged “. ” and RTVE/TNC’s “The 1,000 Days of Allende.”

The 11 projects also include the hybrid docuseries “Blessed,” the first TV series developed by “The Settlers” producer Quijote Films.

Also included are “Couple's Apartment”, created by Azul Lombardia – creator and director of “Según Roxi”, seen on Netflix, Latin America's Movistar and TVP, the film “Doberman” and the big Netflix hit “No me rompan” – and Lucas Mirvois, co-creator of the successful podcasts “Malas Decisiones” with Anna Castillo and “Según Roxi”.

Genre titles make up a large part of the program, with the horror revenant series “The Plague” and the science fiction scenario “Second Life” as well as the partially procedural “Dead Man”. Equally strong are the titles that could be described as documentary series, be it “Blessed”, true crime entries “The Leterrier File”, “Santa Marta” or “Stolen Identity: Sexual Crimes in the Digital Age”.

Many series producers are looking for additional corporate partners. Most are explicitly or implicitly hoping to attract streamer funding. With free-to-air primetime increasingly dominated by remakes of Turkish smash hits, poor platform production in Latin America is hitting the jackpot.

The 11 projects up for one-on-one discussions:

“Blessed” (Director: Picky Talarico; Chile)

Produced by Giancarlo Nasi and Sergio Karmy for Chile's Quijote Films, behind the Cannes winner “Land and Shade” and Blanquita and “The Settlers”, a documentary series by Yassín Velázquez and Constanza Erenchun. In it, the biggest names in Chilean urban music share challenging episodes from their lives and creative processes. “This type of content makes a lot of sense because it combines Quixote's sense of quality with what people want to see,” says Karmy.

“Couples apartment” (Creators: Azul Lombardía and Lucas Mirvois; Argentina)

“Departamento,” produced by Mirvois on his La Maldita label, follows three married couples who are friends and decide to rent an apartment where each of them can take a week-long break from their married life. What follows is an “adventure full of misunderstandings, jealousy, regret and wild mishaps,” says the synopsis.

“The Letelier Files” (Writer: Felipe Carmona; Director: Rafael Valdeavellano, Nicolás Acuña; Chile)

Produced by Carola Fuentes, co-director of “Chicago Boys” and “Breaking the Brick,” a doc-fiction/true crime series that follows the 1976 terrorist attack near the White House on Pinochet opponent Orlando Letelier details and exposes the role of the notorious Chilean secret service, DINA.

“Freedom country” (Creators/Authors: Kristian Natalicchio, Patricia Liguori; Mexico)

A drama series in which the founder of Freedomland, Mexico's most prestigious advertising agency, is arrested for tax fraud. When he is imprisoned, candidates fight to succeed him. Created and written by experienced commercial producer Kristian Natalicchio and playwright, screenwriter and producer Patricia Liguori, who has sung the plays “Etiqueta Azul”, “Dos Hermanas” and “Vestidito”.

“Dead Man” (Writer and director: Joaquín Bravo; Uruguay)

A quirky crime drama starring Eleonor, a therapist who specializes in helping men “kill” an internalized version of their masculinity, who becomes embroiled in a murder investigation. From Bravo, creator of “No hay nadie” (2023), a short-form web series. Básico Producciones from Uruguay.

“Stolen Identity: Sexual Crime in the Digital Age” (Director: Sebastián Carreras; Argentina)

A true crime documentary, this series tells the story of a woman whose life was turned upside down after she discovered her ex had stolen her identity and created fake profiles with intimate photos. “Stolen Identity” documents the protagonist’s transformation from victim to activist as she confronts her harasser and fights for laws against digital violence. Produced by Cactus Cine, the series was written by Sebastián Davidovksy.

“The Plague” (Director: Guillermo Carbonell; Uruguay)

Produced by Murdoc, this supernatural thriller is set in Montevideo in 1970, where dead people come back to life, not as zombies, but as confused people searching for answers to their lives. A paramilitary group keeps the phenomenon secret, hunts down the resurrected and imprisons them in metal coffins on a deserted island. Director Carbonell's short film of the same name won several awards in 2017, including at Morbido Fest and Fantaspoa.

“Life” (Director: Marina Artigas; Uruguay)

Produced by El Cielo Cine and written and directed by Artigas, this series is about four friends in their thirties who are forced to share a small apartment. Trapped, broke and down on their luck, they try to get their lives together – and hopefully grow up in the process. Writer and director Marina Artigas is a 20-year industry veteran with experience on both sides of the camera. She starred in dozens of short films, films and series and directed the short film “Nélida”.

“Santa Martha” (Author: Andrés Borda; Colombia)

“Santa Marta,” another historical story, this time set in 1976, follows Carmen, a local police officer who investigates the murder and rape of a British woman. In her work, Carmen is forced to flee with her son through the labyrinthine underworld of Santa Marta, a city between high mountains, beautiful beaches, crime and corruption. Based on true events, it is produced by Rhayuela Films.

“Second life” (Director: Juan Rodriguez-Briso; Spain, Argentina)

Omnicorp Estudio produces this science fiction drama about the fictional company Second Life, which develops technology to predict the date of death of any person due to natural causes. Knowing they have an expiration date changes people's behavior, including series protagonist Martina, a single mother from Buenos Aires who finds out she only has four years to live. Writer-director Juan Rodriguez-Briso is known for several short films that often play with genres, as well as the acclaimed documentary “Eighteam.”

“South Pole Explorer” (Director: Jota Loyola; Chile)

This documentary series tells the stories of a series of expeditions to the South Pole and the explorers, researchers, environmental activists, pilots, sailors and divers who work to learn more about our planet while protecting its future. Topics such as climate change, environmental protection, geopolitics and peacekeeping will dominate this show, produced by Oxitocine.